Singing Lessons
online with Reilly Nelson
Trained at: Eastman School of Music & Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music
Described by Opera News as “a revelation… with a superb timbre and technique”
Appeared on opera stages around North America and Europe, including the prestigious Glimmerglass Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival, Cincinnati Opera & Kentucky Festival
Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (regional)
Read full biography below
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Edith Piaf once said, “Singing is a way of escaping. It’s another world. I’m no. longer on earth…” Finding a vocal coach that can help you on that journey makes the “other world” of singing that much more magical… and I have found that with my new vocal coach, Reilly Nelson. We clicked immediately and in just a few lessons, she has helped my singing soar. She mixes musical knowledge with a strong intuition for how the body, mind, and heart can support song. She is always fully present during our lessons and listens with a careful ear to find ways to build on technique and pathos. I look forward to our lessons each week and can’t wait to see how much further our work together will enhance my singing. Thank you Reilly for sharing your expertise with me and I think anyone looking for a vocal coach would find time with you will help them on their vocal journey to “another world”.
— James Buckmaster · New York
Client stories
“Reilly is an extraordinary communicator. She is extremely skilled at conveying ideas in clear ways, and communicating her thoughts about the abstract processes involved with singing into real and tangible advice, in order to yield powerful results. Her prowess in that area allows her to be an excellent teacher, and a mentor.”
— Audrey
“Though my daughter has only been working with Dr Nelson for 9 months, we've seen her transform from a shy singer into a strong mezzo-soprano, who was recently accepted into the Cincinnati School for Creative and Performing Arts for vocal music. Reilly teaches strong technique, but is also warm, lively, patient and fun for my daughter.”
— Emily
Biography
Canadian mezzo-soprano Reilly Nelson brings her “distinctly warm and burnished” sound to stages across North America and Europe. In the fall and winter of 2021, she joined Barbara Hannigan’s Equilibrium Young Artists Programme at the Lunenberg Academy of Music Performance in Canada, made her Rochester Philharmonic debut as Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, returned to the Lunenberg Academy for a concert of Ana Sokolovic works, made her European debut as Caterina in Mascagni’s L’amico Fritz with the Tiroler Festspiele Erl and was featured in Erl’s New Years Eve concert. In 2022, she made her debut with The Phoenix Symphony as the alto soloist in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, performed Mozart selections in a digital recording project with the Canadian International Organ Competition and curated a recital of Neapolitan songs with The Marconi Cultural Event Center in Sault Ste. Marie, Canada. This summer, she returns to the Glimmerglass Festival as a guest artist where she sings Gianna in the world premiere of Tenor Overboard and performs as Ursula and in the Trio of Herwegen while also stepping in for a performance as Elsa Schraeder in The Sound of Music.
In 2020-2021, Dr Nelson sang Mezzo 2 in the Glimmerglass Festival workshop of The Knock and was set to debut as Mercédès in Cincinnati Opera’s production of Carmen (COVID19). That summer, Reilly was set to join the Glimmerglass Festival to sing Second Lady/Second Spirit in The Magic Flute, and to cover the title role while singing Mastrilla in Songbird, a new English adaptation of La Périchole COVID19). During the summer of 2020, Reilly participated as a young artist with Glimmerglass Opera in a virtual iteration of the distinguished program that featured working sessions with Isabel Leonard, Francesca Zambello, Eric Owens, and Renée Fleming.
In her 2019/20 season, Reilly sang Suzuki in Soo Opera Theater’s production of Madama Butterfly, Stephano in Cincinnati Opera’s Roméo et Juliette, and gave a workshop performance of William Menefield and Sheila Williams’ new opera, Fierce, with Cincinnati Opera’s Opera Fusion New Works.
Additional recent highlights include the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors and Leah in Enemies, A Love Story, both with Kentucky Opera, and Trouble in Tahiti with Lexington Philharmonic. Her continued relationship with Cincinnati Opera mirrors Reilly’s consistent balance of traditional and new operatic repertoire, including Flora in La traviata, Lupe Marin in Frida, a workshop performance of Ricky Ian Gordon’s Intimate Apparel, and the U.S. premiere of Julien Bilodeau’s Another Brick in the Wall: The Opera.
In addition to her theatrical work, Reilly is a seasoned concert artist. Recent credits include Mozart’s Requiem with the Reno Philharmonic, a staged performance of Argento’s From the Diary of Virginia Woolf with Cincinnati Chamber Opera and Cincinnati Song Initiative. With Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, Reilly has performed Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and B minor Mass, Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder, and cabaret songs of William Bolcom and Kurt Weill.
Reilly took second prize in the Kurt Weill Foundation’s prestigious Lotte Lenya Competition in 2018, after winning the Carolyn Weber Award in the same competition in 2016. She was the winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in the Middle/East Tennessee District. Reilly was also a young artist with The Glimmerglass Festival and Cincinnati Opera, and she was a studio artist at Kentucky Opera in 2019. She has studied at Eastman School of Music, Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, and Tanglewood.
More client stories…
Reilly is fantastic, full of energy, and overall fun to learn from. I'd highly recommend anyone interested in improving themselves to take lessons from her.
From the first session (and even before that), it was clear that Reilly was knowledgeable and passionate about her work. She had a clear lesson plan in mind, and was able to adjust it according to my strengths and weaknesses, taking into account the specific skills I wanted to work on.
What sets Reilly apart is her ability to connect with her students. She truly cares about her student's progress, and goes above and beyond to help them grow their abilities. Lessons were educational but also entertaining, while being tailored to the practice I personally needed that session.
I strongly recommend partnering with Reilly on any vocal work, whether you are a beginner or an experienced speaker.
— Leon Lin New York
Reilly has been an unbelievably positive force in shaping my voice and artistry. Through our meetings my entire life has been better. Reilly has gone above and beyond expectations by not just tailoring each lesson to personalize the vocal toolset she provides, but also through connecting with the client on a personal and human level. Through her compassion and understanding I have learned to expedite my vocal learning through not just skill and practice alone, but also through helping me to transform my perspective. Not only am I becoming a noticeably stronger vocalist through her teaching, but I am learning to further accelerate my artistic progress by shaking off any pitfalls of self-doubt and fear. Her presence has been nothing short of a blessing. Thank you Reilly for helping us to achieve our dreams.
— Kenneth Watts
Working with Dr. Nelson was one of the most empowering and enlightening things that I could have done for myself. She worked with me to develop my voice. Dr. Nelson was patient with me and understood the anxiety that I had singing in front of others. We worked on different techniques weekly and each time I could see the improvement. I have been so fortunate to study under such talent.
— Megan Scott